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The Storm Riders

The Storm Riders

List Price: $17.95
Your Price: $14.36
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Aaron and Ekin just knocked me out!
Review: I definitely think Stormriders should have been out in the US theaters... it would have been more popular than that of Crouching tiger..
Well, anyway, Stormriders is definitely an entertaining movie that features two great looking + acting + charismatic + my favorite actors!

Looking for something fun to watch? Choose this!
Just a small caution- if you are a great fan of Kristy Yeung, don't watch it cuz I really wanted to kill her here... --;

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Garbage pure and simple
Review: OK. I was born in 69 so that officialy qualifies me as ol school. I've seen and have a lot of love & respect for HK flicks.
So yes I got excited when I saw Sonny Chiba's name but.. what a waste of talent this flick is. Epic my [butt]]... epically dissapointing. The fight scenes are all major let downs.

OK so cinematically the movie has a lot of pretty shots, but for entertainment value it stinks.

This is the type of flick you turn on at a party, turn down the volume on the TV and look at the screen, occasionally, as you listen to music, dance ... ...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Hong Kong Special Effects Extravaganza
Review: Made in 1998, this film single-handedly revived the Hong Kong film industry by reinventing the fantasy swordplay film and throwing in tons of special effects and teen heartthrobs. The film is an adaptation of a Chinese comic book and takes place in ancient mythical China, where a warlord named Lord Conquerer aims to rule the entire country. An oracle makes a prediction that if Lord Conquerer takes in two men named Wind and Cloud as his disciples, he will rule the world. Lord Conquerer gathers all the boys named Wind and Cloud and singles out the two that are strongest. Of course there is another part of the prediction that the oracle doesn't mention where Wind and Cloud will become Lord Conquerer's undoing. Sure enough Wind and Cloud learn that Lord Conquerer killed their parents to get them and plan their revenge. The film has plenty of action, romance and handsome flying men and is a great comic book adaptation to boot, but really should be thought of as a fantasy film rather than a martial arts film.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: too heavy on special effects.
Review: The charcters and story are great but it's all ruined by the special effects and lack of decent fight scenes.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: More Please!
Review: I am a novice to Hong Kong cinema. But this movie really blew me away! Awesome CGI, and fun, 'over-the-top' acting made me buy the DVD, and want to look for the SPECIAL EDITION version.

This is the story of Cloud and Wind, both young men raised by the (evil) dictator Lord Conquer. Loyal to Conquer, the two friends are drawn apart when Conquer engages his daughter Charity to Wind, the gentler of the two. In doing so, Conquer hopes that Wind and Cloud will kill eachother and save him the trouble.

What follows is a CGI extravaganza, with Wind and Cloud vying for Charity's attentions, and Eventually confronting Conquer.

Definitely a movie which will appeal to women, this movie is beautifully filmed... And has a great sound track! A must for lovers of romantic films.... Truly one of a kind!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: fantastic!
Review: this movie is based on a popular comic. the special effects are very nice. the fighting moves are great and the casts give a good performance. the extras on the dvd are also quite good for a chinese show. but if u know the original story, you might not like this show because it changed a lot of things from the comic. any way, i feel that this is a must get dvd.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Meh...
Review: Thought it was just average. The plot is good and the characters are well developed. However, where it falls short is the action. Most people will not expect what is in this movie. It is nothing like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon in my opinion or like any other movie I've seen. It's more special effects of fireballs,etc and camera tricks. You won't see much fighting that is appearant in movies such as Iron Monkey and CTHD. There are maybe something like 6-7 fighting sequences, all very short and they aren't that well done either.

The action might work in anime like Dragonball Z but with real life actors, it just doesn't work real well. The special effects in this movie were based around more quantity than uality in my opinion. I understand that this was made five years ago but there was just too much and some(not all, some looked great) looked terrible. Fighting does not require this much special effects and I did not find it that entertaining. Hell, al you could see during fighting was orange and green stuff flying around, barely can see the character, and the camera is all blurred sometimes so you can't see anything at all.

This movie had potential. It was just a bit too corny I guess with all the weird looking swords and special effects. Story however was good however and so was the character developement. I was disaapointed in this movie because of the lack of good action scenes. Story and character developement was good and this is what saved this movie. I would say I felt the same way as I felt of The Professional (Leon). The Professional was far superior but that was also mostly character development and story. I was expecting much more action but there were onyl two sequences worth mentioning.

Get this movie if you wanna see a movie with a good story and characters. It was a nice epic story but don't get it for the action. You'll be disappointed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Live action Anime
Review: I first saw this movie in Europe about 3 years ago, and I was stunned. It's one of those movies that for some reason wasn't released in United States.

This movie has fantastic fight scenes, great cinematography, some of Hong Kongs biggest stars, and even a decent plot. It's easy to come up with comparisons to The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but since this movie came out first, I think the directors of those other films borrowed a thing or two. If you love Kung fu, action, Anime, or epic stories, then this is the film for you.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Return of Street Fighter: Up + up, -> + ->, X button
Review: Sonny Chiba, famous from his "Street Fighter" films, maniacally laughs his way to the top as Lord Conquerer in "The Storm Riders". It's pure Hong Kong fun in this comic book-style martial arts film. But don't let the comic book description disuade you. The film's origin is from a comic who's setting is in historical China, and the film makes no pretense about it. Sonny Chiba and his glamour rock co-stars Ekin Cheng and Aaron Kwok (shown above on the cover of the DVD) are players in a film that feels as if it is part-video game, part comic book, and part Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Yet that's exactly what makes the film a worthwhile watch. It's no Citizen Kane. Yet the elements of revenge, romance, and dueling with characters who are archetypical (evil Warlord, the oprhaned sons raised by the man who killed their fathers, shaolin monks and buddhist sages to fill in the info gaps) keep you interested in Storm Riders. It's a fun and quick film of the Hong Kong school of style that is perfect to play with a few mates who share your zeal for Sonny Chiba films, Tekken, and Manga comic books.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A really good B movie
Review: Storm Riders is an interesting mix of engaging drama and pure cheese. The two heroes Wind and Cloud have distinct personalities greatly enhanced by their lovely long hair. Flyaway-hair Wind, who doesn't know his master Conquer killed his father, is Ken-doll nice and plays the sweet prince to Conquer's daughter Charity. He defeats his opponents with graceful kicks and regular visits to the salon. Wavy gel-hair Cloud, who saw his daddy die, knows Conquer is responsible but hangs around sulking with goth attitude. He bests his opponents by dyeing his hair blue--and then shooting bullets of water through their bodies. A man of few words, Cloud beds Charity while Wind just smiles at her demurely. Wind is destined to have Charity's hand in marriage, but Cloud ain't having that. Mayhem ensues as Conquer (Sonny Chiba, whose evil-villain laugh will make you laugh, too) tries to use the pair for world domination, all the while afraid they will turn on him. (I'm spoiling nothing if I tell you that they do.)

Special effects vary in quality, from Kroft Superstars fake to Matrix cool. Fight scenes are so rapid you might need your DVD player's slo-mo features to see what the hell is going on. Plot tangents and flashbacks abound, and so do the usual martial arts cliches. Every scene is comic-cook shiny, as if the film itself was rinsed in Wind's expensive hair conditioner. Certain moments have a pleasing epic Hollywood feel, while others just look like Saturday morning cartoons. Grab a six pack and huge bag of chips (and all your nerdy cult-film friends) and enjoy!


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